WaterField Desings uses a custom made ballistic nylon material in many of their cases, and we've grown to really like this material. It's very sturdy, water resistant, and it will protect your gear from bumps and pokes by pointy objects. The new MacBook Air Travel Express case from WaterField Designs uses this ballistic nylon material for the exterior protection and a super soft and fine microsuede on the inside to protect the MacBook Air from scratching. The case feels ultra protective thanks to two layers of high quality material as well as extra plastic inserts for the laptop. The MacBook Air Travel Express looks professional and comes in black with an accent strip in 6 different colors.

There are a lot of slim MacBook Air cases on the market but this isn?t one of them. The MacBook Air Travel Express case is designed to carry your Apple notebook as well as its charger, a mouse, an external drive (handy since the MacBook Air doesn?t have a built-in optical drive) and all the small accessories your laptop needs while you are on the road. For those who love compartments you will love this case. The MacBook Air Travel Express case has a pocket for the laptop, 5 additional pockets for accessories and a middle compartment that can hold a magazine or paper notebook. We used the case for our MacBook Air when traveling and took all we needed to use the MacBook Air with us in this bag and an iPhone 4 and our paper notebook. Everything fit inside nicely and the case still had room for more accessories.

The compartment for the MacBook Air has two plastic inserts that give the notebook some extra protection from shock and bumps. The gold-color lining marked the laptop pocket makes it easy to quickly take out or put in your MacBook Air in a black case. The two pockets attached to the laptop slot are perfect for CDs and DVDs, and they are stretchable. Three extra pockets live on the opposite side of the laptop slot, and these are super stretchable and soft. You can store a hard drive, a mouse, USB dangle, a phone, a point-and-shoot camera and more in these incredibly versatile pockets. The largest of these three pockets opens on top while the other two open on the side.

The super soft and padded microsuede material lines anything that might touch your gear on the inside, and there is a good amount of padding too, so that your gadgets don?t bang into each other inside of the case. The MacBook Air Travel Express uses YKK style zipper that feels reasonably robust and it has smooth action opening and closing the case. For a case that can carry so much, it?s relatively slender measuring 13.5 x 9.1 x 1.9 inches for the 11? MacBook Air and 14.5 x 10.5 x 1.9 inches for the 13? MacBook Air. There is also a version for the MacBook Pro 13? which is the same as the MacBook Air 13? version. The MacBook Air Travel Express for the 13? notebooks weighs 1 lb 2 oz.

Matching the sturdy exterior material is the quality stitching that feels solid and looks flawless. The black case has a color strip that adds a bit of accent and comes in 6 colors. WaterField Designs also offers this case in two formats and several carrying options. You can get just the pouch case without any d-ring or strap and put the case inside of a large backpack or briefcase. The pouch case does have a grab tab that you can attach a carabiner to. You can get the case with just the d-ring option to use with a carrying strap or attach the Travel Express case to your messenger back. You can also get the case with the d-ring and two strap options, a simple strap or a suspension strap for more length. These options provide more convenience to users with different needs, and you don?t have to pay for extra features, like straps or d-ring, if you don't need them.

Conclusion

There is no doubt that the MacBook Air Travel Express case from WaterField Designs provides strong protection for your notebook as it?s built like a fortress with rugged exterior and padded soft interior. The case has a very nice design for carrying the notebook along with all its accessories and every piece of gear you have in the bag is well protected. The case isn?t small however and does add some weight to your ultra-light notebook. We love the fact that you can get different carry options on this case, and only have to pay for what you need.